Though laser seemed to be technically more advanced as a tool for removing heart blockages, a recent study shows that it cannot be trusted completely
DUTCH researchers recently came to
conclude that balloon angioplasty and
not laser, is more effective in removing
blockages in blood vessels connected to
the heart. The finding came after a
three-year study comparing the two
methods by Dutch researchers.
Meanwhile, another study found that
the technique could also help combat
angina, a severe chest pain.
Angioplasty is an operation used to
unclog a blocked blood vessel of the
heart. Though balloon angioplasty has
been in use since the '70s, a laser was
put to use to reopen a channel rather
recently. Specialists reported that the
use of a powerful form of gas laser,
called the excimer laser, gave excellent
results. This led the Dutch researchers,
led by Yolande Appelman of the
Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, to compare balloon and laser
angioplasty for the first time in 1991.
Involving 308 patients, the study
concluded in 1993 at hospitals in
Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Although
the number of subjects was decidedly
the smallest, it could still give statistically significant results. The study was
designed to allow patients in the laser
group to receive the balloon treatment if
the laser one was not effective by itself.
It was found that 98 per cent of
patients in the laser group had to be
given additional balloon angioplasty
after special x-rays called angiographs
revealed that the laser treatment had not
satisfactorily widened the blockage. On
re-examining the patients - six months
after the balloon angioplasty -
researchers found that the success rate
for using both the techniques was 80 per
cent.
"The Dutch study, confirms the
already large disappointment with the
laser for its original intended use in
angioplasty based on the expectations,
outlays and the number of people who
tried it," says Frederick Feit, an expert
on angioplasty at the New York
University Medical Centre. Meanwhile,
the Dutch scientists are working to
modify the laser technique to improve
its success rate.
in a study conducted by a team
of scientists led by Peter Berger at
the Mayo Clinic in the USA, balloon
angioplasty was found to combat
angina in addition to clearing up the
fat debris in the clogged heart
vessels. The method is reported to
be safe and effective in bringing relief
to patients.
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